Product & Operations Manager – E-Instant (Fast Play)

Location: Mauritius
Employment Type: Long-Term Contract
Remuneration: Market-related
Relocation: Required – successful candidate must relocate to Mauritius
Work Permit: Company assistance provided for successful expatriate candidates
Home Travel: Periodic company-supported trips home during the contract
Department: Sales & Marketing
Industry: Lottery / Gaming / E-Instant / Fast Play / Consumer Products

About the Role

An exciting international opportunity is available for an experienced Product & Operations Manager – E-Instant (Fast Play) to take end-to-end ownership of a strategically important instant-win gaming portfolio in Mauritius.

Fast Play represents a significant growth opportunity for the organisation, combining the excitement and accessibility of instant-win games with the organisation's broader lottery and omnichannel gaming offering.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the complete Fast Play portfolio, covering product strategy, game design and development, product launches, lifecycle management, operational delivery, commercial performance, player experience and continuous innovation.

This is not simply a marketing or traditional product-management position. It requires someone capable of combining product ownership with hands-on operational management and commercial accountability.

The successful candidate will work closely with Technology, Retail Operations, Marketing, Online Channels, Finance, Risk & Compliance and external technology and gaming partners to ensure the Fast Play portfolio remains commercially successful, operationally reliable, innovative, engaging and fully compliant.

International Appointment & Relocation

This position is based in Mauritius.

The successful candidate will be appointed on a long-term contract and will be required to relocate to Mauritius for the duration of the assignment.

The employer will assist the successful expatriate candidate with the necessary work-permit process.

The expatriate arrangement will also provide for periodic trips home during the contract, with the full travel arrangements to be discussed with shortlisted candidates.

Candidates should therefore only apply if they are genuinely willing to relocate and establish themselves in Mauritius for a long-term international assignment.

Job Purpose

To develop, manage and grow the organisation's Fast Play / E-Instant portfolio by taking responsibility for:

• Product strategy
• Product roadmap
• Game concepts and mechanics
• Product lifecycle management
• New product launches
• Operational delivery
• Commercial performance
• Player experience
• Retail integration
• Future digital/online integration
• Technology and supplier coordination
• Market and customer insights
• Regulatory compliance
• Continuous product innovation

The overall objective is to generate sustainable revenue growth, operational excellence and increased player engagement across retail and future digital channels.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Define and execute the Fast Play product strategy in line with the organisation's commercial objectives.
• Establish clear objectives for revenue growth, player engagement and portfolio expansion.
• Develop and maintain a multi-year product roadmap.
• Plan new game launches and product enhancements.
• Continuously optimise the existing portfolio.
• Identify opportunities for new game mechanics, themes, prize structures and play styles.
• Evaluate appropriate price points based on customer insights and commercial performance.
• Monitor market developments and international lottery/gaming trends.
• Conduct competitor benchmarking.
• Identify emerging product opportunities.
• Develop business cases supporting new product initiatives and investment decisions.

E-Instant / Fast Play Product Development

The Product & Operations Manager will play a central role in determining what products are developed and how they are positioned to customers.

Responsibilities include:

• Identify new product and game concepts.
• Develop engaging player propositions.
• Define appropriate game mechanics.
• Develop prize structures.
• Determine themes and play styles.
• Evaluate appropriate product price points.
• Ensure products deliver entertainment value while achieving commercial objectives.
• Work with technology and game-development partners to translate product concepts into viable products.
• Ensure customer insights and market trends inform future development.
• Maintain an innovative and commercially relevant product pipeline.

Product Lifecycle Management

The successful candidate will own the complete lifecycle of the Fast Play portfolio, from initial concept through launch, growth, optimisation and eventual retirement.

Responsibilities include:

• Evaluate individual product performance continuously.
• Recommend product enhancements and refreshes.
• Determine when products should be retired.
• Maintain an appropriately balanced portfolio.
• Ensure an effective mix of:
  • Themes
  • Price points
  • Prize structures
  • Player experiences
• Identify underperforming products and implement corrective action.
• Ensure successful products are appropriately optimised.
• Drive continuous innovation to ensure the portfolio remains competitive and commercially attractive.

Game & Player Experience Design

• Define engaging game mechanics and player propositions.
• Develop prize structures designed to maximise entertainment and player value.
• Work closely with external technology and gaming providers to develop new products.
• Ensure games provide a simple, intuitive and engaging customer experience.
• Incorporate Responsible Gaming principles into product design and customer journeys.
• Validate gameplay and customer journeys prior to launch.
• Identify opportunities to improve the player experience.
• Ensure product development balances customer engagement, commercial performance and regulatory requirements.

Commercial Performance Management

The successful candidate will carry direct responsibility for the commercial performance of the Fast Play portfolio.

Responsibilities include:

• Monitor sales and revenue performance.
• Monitor profitability.
• Analyse payout ratios.
• Track player participation.
• Monitor frequency of play.
• Monitor customer retention.
• Analyse player behaviour and purchasing patterns.
• Identify opportunities to increase participation and revenue.
• Recommend pricing strategies.
• Develop promotional initiatives.
• Recommend portfolio changes to maximise revenue and profitability.
• Prepare regular commercial performance reports.
• Present recommendations and insights to senior management.
• Translate commercial data into practical product decisions.

Operations Management

Unlike a conventional product-management position, this appointment includes substantial day-to-day operational accountability.

The Product & Operations Manager will:

• Own the operational performance of the Fast Play portfolio.
• Ensure products remain available, compliant and commercially effective.
• Lead operational planning for new game launches.
• Coordinate product enhancements and promotional or lifecycle activities.
• Ensure game configurations are accurately established.
• Ensure prize structures and validation rules are correctly configured.
• Ensure product parameters and operational processes are properly established and maintained.
• Coordinate product deployment and operational readiness.
• Monitor operational KPIs.
• Monitor product availability and service performance.
• Identify and resolve operational issues proactively.
• Develop and continuously improve operational procedures and controls.
• Identify process improvements and automation opportunities.
• Conduct post-launch reviews and capture lessons learned to improve future launches.

New Product & Game Launches

• Lead the operational planning and implementation of new Fast Play launches.
• Establish clear launch plans and timelines.
• Coordinate internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure technology readiness.
• Coordinate product testing and certification.
• Ensure operational readiness prior to launch.
• Ensure Retail Operations receives appropriate product information and guidance.
• Ensure retailers receive the necessary launch materials.
• Coordinate promotional and lifecycle activities.
• Monitor performance immediately following launch.
• Conduct structured post-launch reviews.
• Use lessons learned to improve subsequent product launches.

Technology & External Gaming Partners

The successful candidate will work extensively with Technology and third-party product/game providers.

Responsibilities include:

• Work with Technology and external suppliers to ensure reliable deployment and maintenance of Fast Play products.
• Define business requirements for new functionality and product enhancements.
• Coordinate product testing.
• Coordinate technical certification and operational readiness.
• Ensure products meet relevant technical and regulatory requirements.
• Support successful implementation of new releases and operational improvements.
• Manage productive relationships with external technology providers and game suppliers.
• Ensure supplier performance supports the commercial objectives of the portfolio.

Retail & Omnichannel Integration

Fast Play currently has an important retail component, while future digital distribution and omnichannel development form part of the broader opportunity.

The Product & Operations Manager will:

• Work closely with Retail Operations to optimise product visibility.
• Improve merchandising and in-store execution.
• Ensure Fast Play products are effectively incorporated into the retail customer journey.
• Provide retailers with appropriate product information and operational guidance.
• Support successful retail launches.
• Work closely with the Online Channels team to support future digital distribution.
• Identify opportunities for cross-channel participation.
• Develop opportunities to increase customer engagement across retail and digital environments.
• Help ensure a consistent product proposition across channels.

Go-to-Market & Marketing

• Lead the development and execution of product launch plans.
• Define product positioning.
• Develop appropriate branding and customer-value propositions.
• Partner with Marketing on integrated retail, digital and CRM campaigns.
• Support promotional calendars and seasonal product launches.
• Measure campaign effectiveness.
• Recommend improvements designed to maximise player acquisition and retention.
• Ensure marketing activities appropriately communicate individual game propositions and portfolio value.

Market & Customer Insights

• Conduct customer, market and competitor research.
• Identify changing player preferences.
• Identify emerging gaming trends.
• Monitor international lottery innovation.
• Recommend relevant international developments that could be introduced into the Fast Play portfolio.
• Gather customer and retailer feedback.
• Use feedback to improve existing products.
• Apply insights to future product development.
• Translate customer data and research into commercially successful product enhancements.

Stakeholder Management

The Product & Operations Manager will serve as the business owner and central coordination point for the Fast Play portfolio.

The successful candidate will build strong working relationships across:

• Commercial
• Marketing
• Technology
• Retail Operations
• Online Channels
• Finance
• Risk & Compliance
• External technology providers
• Game suppliers
• Creative agencies

Responsibilities include:

• Coordinate cross-functional teams to ensure successful product delivery.
• Manage external supplier relationships.
• Communicate product strategy and performance.
• Present roadmap updates and strategic recommendations to senior management.
• Ensure stakeholders remain aligned throughout the product lifecycle.

Governance, Regulatory Compliance & Responsible Gaming

• Ensure all Fast Play products comply with applicable gaming legislation.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Ensure required product certification standards are met.
• Support product approvals and regulatory submissions where required.
• Embed Responsible Gaming principles into product design.
• Incorporate Responsible Gaming into communications and customer experience.
• Identify and mitigate product-related risks.
• Protect the integrity of the Fast Play portfolio.
• Ensure product innovation remains within appropriate regulatory and governance frameworks.

Qualifications

The client requires a:

Bachelor's degree in:

• Business
• Marketing
• Product Management
• Or a related discipline

A postgraduate qualification in Marketing, Business Administration or Product Management would be advantageous.

Experience Required

Candidates should have a minimum of five years' experience in:

• Product management
• Lottery
• Gaming
• FMCG
• Or another consumer-focused industry

Candidates must also demonstrate:

• Experience managing products throughout their complete lifecycle.
• Experience taking products from concept through launch and ongoing optimisation.
• Experience launching new products.
• Experience managing commercial product performance.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams.
• Experience managing or working closely with third-party suppliers.
• Strong commercial capability.
• Strong analytical capability.
• A customer-focused approach.

Preferred Industry Background

While the specification allows for broader consumer-product experience, candidates with direct experience in the following environments would be particularly relevant:

• Lottery
• E-Instant / Instant Win Gaming
• Fast Play
• Online Gaming
• Gaming
• Sports Betting
• Digital Gaming Products
• Other regulated gaming environments

Strong candidates from FMCG or other high-volume consumer-product environments may also be considered where they demonstrate excellent product lifecycle, launch, commercial performance and customer insight experience.

Ideal Candidate Profile

This opportunity could suit candidates currently or previously operating as:

• Product & Operations Manager
• Gaming Product Manager
• Lottery Product Manager
• E-Instant Product Manager
• Instant Games Product Manager
• Fast Play Product Manager
• Senior Product Manager
• Digital Gaming Product Manager
• Product Portfolio Manager
• Product Commercialisation Manager

The strongest candidate will be someone who can genuinely own the product as a business rather than simply manage individual projects or coordinate marketing activity.

Key Competencies

• Product strategy
• Product roadmap development
• Product lifecycle management
• New product development
• Game/product launches
• Commercial performance management
• Revenue and profitability analysis
• Customer/player analytics
• Game mechanics
• Prize structures
• Product pricing
• Player experience
• Retail product execution
• Omnichannel product development
• Operational management
• Product testing and certification
• Technology/vendor coordination
• Go-to-market strategy
• Customer research
• Competitor analysis
• Regulatory compliance
• Responsible Gaming
• Cross-functional stakeholder management

Personal Attributes

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong commercial judgement
• Analytical thinking
• Customer and player focus
• Product innovation
• Creativity combined with commercial discipline
• Strong organisational capability
• Hands-on operational leadership
• Ability to manage multiple product launches simultaneously
• Strong stakeholder-management skills
• Confidence working with technology providers and suppliers
• Attention to operational detail
• Data-driven decision-making
• Accountability and ownership
• Adaptability within an international working environment

Remuneration

Market-related.

No predetermined salary budget has been provided. Remuneration will be determined according to the successful candidate's experience, expertise and overall suitability.

Important – Mauritius Relocation

This position is based in Mauritius and is not a remote role.

The successful candidate will be required to relocate to Mauritius and take up a long-term contract.

The company will assist with the required work permit and will provide for periodic trips home during the contract. Full details of the expatriate arrangements will be discussed with shortlisted candidates.